We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
from Part IV - In search of context: hominin environments, behaviour and lithic cultures
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 April 2012
The oldest burials are found in the Middle Palaeolithic of Mt. Carmel and the Galilee, in Israel, 130 to 100 ka ago. Two populations, modern humans and Neandertals are involved, with a total of some 40 individuals. The burial practices of the two populations are similar and consist of placing the corpse in a prepared pit, sometimes inserting grave goods, then filling the pit. Protecting the corpse from scavenging animals, the burial reflects the oldest concern for human dignity. The gifts offered to the dead might be alluding to some kind of religious belief in rebirth and afterlife. Accordingly, the use of an advanced syntactic language is suggested for both modern humans and Neandertals in the Levant.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
